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Replacing O'Rourke: The Candidates

By: Adam Jardy

The Columbus Dispatch - May 09, 2013 03:16 PM

This will be the most interesting starting lineup of the season for the Crew since the season
opener more than two months ago.

After today’s training, head coach Robert Warzycha said the MRI on Danny O’Rourke’s ankle did
not show anything serious but that he is likely out for Saturday’s game against Colorado. With
Agustin Viana already out with a hamstring injury, the Crew now finds itself replacing its two
opening-day choices to man the defensive midfielder roles in Warzycha’s lineup.

Tony Tchani has started the last two games alongside O’Rourke, so he seems a lock to remain in
the lineup. Who will he pair with? Here are the four candidates in alphabetical order:

Kevan George – Now in his second year, George has nine appearances including four
starts for the Crew to his credit. He played eight minutes in back-to-back games ending with the
Crew’s abysmal 1-0 road loss to Chicago and not been on the bench since. Of all the candidates,
George has the most MLS experience, but he was the last mentioned by Warzycha when discussing the
depth chart.

Matias Sanchez – After signing as the team’s fourth-highest paid player during the
offseason, Sanchez has been unable to find any sort of consistent role for Warzycha. He has seen
action in just one of the last four games and has 37 minutes spread across four appearances this
season. Earlier in the season, Warzycha declined to analyze Sanchez’s performance because he said
the midfielder had not been on the field long enough to make an impact. Today, Warzycha said
Sanchez is “dying to play.”

Wil Trapp – The local product and homegrown player signing is yet to break the
game-day 18 as he has split time with the United States U-20 team during his rookie season. He has
reportedly spent some time with the first team in training this week, but it might be a stretch to
ask him to immediately jump into the starting lineup.

Konrad Warzycha – Another offseason signing, the younger Warzycha has seen action
in the last two games as a late-game substitution. He appears to be climbing the depth chart and
has performed well in reserve league games this season. “Danny reads the game well,” Konrad
Warzycha said today. “ He’s experienced and knows what to see in there. For me it’s kind of new. I’v
e been trying to learn from him. We each have our different qualities, but it’s the same mind-set
for me to go in and try to do what he’s doing.”

Not surprisingly, the head coach did not come out and name a starter today. However, he might
have tipped his cap when I asked if Konrad Warzycha had a leg up because he had been subbed into
the last two games ahead of the four aforementioned players.

“You have to think about the guy that is going to start the game and the pressure and everything
else,” Robert Warzycha said. “(Konrad) was coming off the bench a little bit. Especially with young
players, that’s what you have to do: give them a little bit of rope and they can learn instead of
throwing them into deep water.”

It sounds to me like Konrad Warzycha will be making his first MLS start Saturday.